Improvement in breakage-signals for railway cars



2 Sheets--Sheet 1.

SAMUEL JACKSON. I'mprovement'i Breakge Signals for RailwaylCars. No.12225386; Pax-enigma 2, 1872.

N s@ RE 5G20.) SAMUEL jACKSON, 2Sheets--Sheei2- Improvement in BreakageSignalg foi Railway Cars.

, No. 122,386, Patemdjqmwan.

bf-messes.- 'v/mfen/fa-r, V

- j L @AM/ i 'UNITED- State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new4thecfollowin'g to be a full, clear, and exact de- `forms apart of thisspecification, andin which- I is severed 5 Fig. 3, Sheet 2, a verticalsection ible connections, and couplings.

` conical or tapering so as to facilitate their iny rubber tubes shallcontract, thus .forming joints -drawn apart when the 'train isdisconnected.

, enough to allow for slack or play between cars,

sAMUELJAcxsoN, or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT BREAKAGE-SIGNALS FOR RAILWAY CARS.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 122,386, dated January 2,1872.

To all whom itmy concern: i

Beit known that I, SAMUEL JACKSON, of the city and county ofPhiladelphia, in the and useful Improvement in Breakage-Signals onRailroad Trains; and I do hereby declare scription thereof, which willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usemy improvement, reference bef ing had to the accompanying drawing, whichFigure l, Sheetl, is a side view of a railroad train provided' with myimprovement; Fig. 2, a perspective view of the apparatus when theiiexible connection between the cars of the signalltube, water-tube, andair-pipe; and Fig. 4, a side view of the yair-pipes, flex- The sameparts are denoted by the same letters in all the figures.

A A inv the drawing represent the several sections of an open pipe ortube, which I prefer to make of iron, and which are attached in 'anyconvenient manner below the foot-board of the engine, the tender, andthe ears.` rlhe several sections are connected by means of the flexibletubes Band the couplings C C. The flexible tubes, which I prefer to makeof India rubber, are drawn over the ends D of the pipe sections. Theseends may be made sertion into the tubes B, and annular grooves orrecessesmay also be made at the base of each cone, into which groovesthe ends of thel which 4are not only air-tight 4but may easily be Theseexible tubes or hose should belong and not to be detached from thepipeAby the ordinary oscillations or lateral movements of the train. Thetube B at the'rear end of the train is closed air-tight by any suitableplug', E, as seen in Fig. .1, or the rear end of the pipe may itself beclosed byv an elastic or expansible plug. The section of pipe A, whichis attached under the locomotive, is turned upward so as to enter avertical tube or box F. This tube, as well as the pipe, is open at top,and they have about the same height. The tube F should be kept iilledwith water to within a short distance of the top. G is the signal tube,closed at top and open at bottom, and of such diameter as to slidefreely within the water-tube F.

The tubes F and G should be placed on some part of the locomotive wherethe signaltube will be directly under the eye of the engineer. G mayhave a cap, Hag, light, or any device attached to it which will renderits descent, hereinafter explained, as conspicuous as possible 5 or itvmay be connected by any suitable mechanism with a bell, whistle, 8vo.,so as to operate the same when it beginsto descend.

lIn'the operation of these devices, when a car is coupled to the trainthev plug Eis withdrawn and the iiexible tube at the rear of the traindetached from the pipe A. The tubes B are then connected with thecoupling, their outer ends drawn over the adjacent ends of pipe D D, andthe coupling screwed u'p.

` When the train has been made up the rear orifice of the section ofpipe A on the rear car should be closed with a iiexible tube and plug,as heretofore described, or in any other suitable way.

The train being coupled and ready to sta-rt, and the tube F filled withwater to within a short distance of its top, the engineer inserts thesignal-tube into it. The air within the signal-tube and` pipe A iscompressed by the weight of the signal-tube and sustains'it in theelevated position shown in Figs. l and 3.

The breaking of an axle, the deviation of a car from` the track, or anyaccident which causes a displacement of the train or a part thereof fromits proper position, will Withdraw one or more of the flexible tubes Bfrom the pipe A and permit the air coniined in said pipe to escape, sothat the signal-tube, being no longer supported by suoli compressed air,will instantly descend and thereby notify the engi` neer of theaccident.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent ofthe United States, 1s-

1. A signal apparatus, so constructed that the act of disconnecting thetrain shall operate Water-tube with the pipe A, constructed in thesignal by permitting the escape. of the air sections, connected byflexible tubes..

confined therein, substantially as described. SAMUEL JACKSON.

2. The combination of the air-pipe A extending along the train, theWater-tube F, and Witnesses:

the signal-tube G. WM. R. WRIGHT,

3. The combination of the signal-tube and MILLARD F. VVALTON. (120)

